Page 71 of Between Imminent Fates

“Six.”

Key’s voice shook Nero out of his stupor.

“Five.”

Every immortal except Isaiah and Nina fixed their attention Key.

“Four.”

Key’s hand reached behind her.

“Three.”

Her fingers locked around themerjhahandgun she’d tucked into a holster Nero had failed to notice until now.

“Two.”

Nero held his breath.

In the span of a millisecond, the traitor Raeth Rayn teleported beside Isaiah and Nina’s location. Profound hatred twisted the man’s features as he leveled a gun to Isaiah’s temple.

“One.”

Swifter than Nero’s eyes could track, Key fired a singlemerjhabullet into Rayn’s shoulder. Before he fell, he was yanked telekinetically to Nero’s feet.

“Lock him!”

Nero didn’t think twice. His abilities flared out once more and locked away the powers of the bloodied Raeth writhing at his feet. Rayn, the clanless Raeth aligned with theCitizensthey knew nothing about, had been stopped.

“I’ll kill him!”

The traitor didn’t seem to realize he was now powerless. So consumed by his venom, he writhed against the grass in bone-breaking frustration, as if he could defeat Nero’s captive hold on him.

Key’s head swiveled around to glare at Rayn, her eyes pure white. “Don’t think you wereanydifferent to Torrin. As soon as you’d played your part, he was going to put a bullet in your brain. I’ve seen your death as often as I’ve seen this battle.”

“I don’t care—he needs to die! I’ll kill him!”

The foreseer showed no signs of shock. “You’re a traitor to your own kind, Rayn, and you’ll die as one. Keep him human, sovereign. Never unbind his abilities.”

A feminine gasp startled Key back to the scene before her. Nero sensed the fear that shook through her through their clan bond. It was an immediate, devastating dread the eclipsed all else.

“No—no!” Key cried tearfully, panicking now. “Please—we are so close, Nina! Please keep going!”

Every pain-filled cry hollowed out a piece of Nero’s soul. Projecting their Reaper abilities this intensely meant unimaginable, draining pain, impossible to hold for very long.

Key didn’t give up.

“I know you’re losing the battle, Nina. You have to keep going! We’re so close!” Key begged. Then, the foreseer spun, her focus shifting to those behind her. “Shields, push!”

As theCitizenssoldiers had attempted to run, the shields had pushed them into a kill zone, containing them before the linked sovereigns to ensure a smaller playing field.

“Gideon: funnel!”

Nero recalled the strategy from the playbook, as did the Elemental monarch. Dropping to his knees, Gideon’s hands sank into the earth. The ground shifted slightly, warping the field beneath their enemy’s feet to essentially funnel them toward the center of Isaiah and Nina’s projected ability.

Rocks and earth moved swiftly to contain the last segment of soldiers and militia, their horrific screams wreaking havoc across a battlefield of slaughter.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

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